Traffic between Cullman and Good Hope along Alabama Highway 69 already is beginning to flow a little smoother, even as road crews resume their work, after last week’s heavy rains, to fully resurface the state highway.

Construction is being done mostly in the evenings on the 3.6-mile span, which connects the two cities between U.S. Highway 31 in Cullman and the Exit 304 interchange at Interstate 65 in Good Hope. When finished, the full length of the highway, much of which runs for five lanes (including a center turn lane), will have received a freshly laid surface.

Asphalt resurfacing already has been completed on the highway’s inner lanes, with the remaining work expected to be finished before the end of August. Highway 69 traverses one of the city of Cullman’s most active commercial corridors, linking retail and restaurants surrounding the Marktplatz shopping center in Cullman to a busy industrial zone further south, before again resuming retail activity around Good Hope’s 304 interstate exit.

“It’s one of the heaviest-traveled roads in Cullman, and it’s definitely the heaviest-traveled road in Good Hope,” said Good Hope Mayor Jerry Bartlett, who noted that the project already has smoothed the bumpy bridge crossing where the highway spans I-65. “We’re just so proud to see the road improved for everyone coming into Good Hope, because we’ve got a lot going on down here.”

No local funds are being used on the state project, which, according to the Alabama Department of Transportation, was planned at an estimated cost of $3 million. An approximate $2.4 million of that amount is being drawn from federal funds, with the remaining $600,000 paid for by the state.